Why 78% of customers try to bypass your AI agent

Twilio research reports that 78% of consumers have tried to bypass AI customer-service agents to reach a human, driven chiefly by unclear AI disclosure, reluctance to use automation for high-stakes matters such as health, payments, and loans, and prior experiences with inaccurate or inefficient responses. While 63% of consumers want the ability to escalate to a person at any time, only 47% of brands reportedly offer this option, alongside gaps in human oversight, data transparency, and explanations of AI recommendations. Consumers are generally more comfortable using AI for routine tasks such as scheduling, returns, and seat selection, suggesting that AI is more likely to supplement rather than replace human support. The piece argues that companies can increase trust by identifying AI clearly at the start of interactions, enabling prompt handoffs with full conversation context, retaining relevant customer history, and monitoring sentiment for escalation risks, highlighting Twilio products designed to support these functions.

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